So this is my first post on this wonderful blog that Artina has started to chronicle our journey to bring you our new restaurant concept. At first, I liked the idea of Artina updating this blog and this being her ‘baby’ but after prodding from a few friends (or just one…thanks Raju) I realized that this a great way for me to reflect on all the thoughts, feelings and emotions that I’ve been going through as part of my decision to start a restaurant . Not to mention, Raju brought up the brilliant point that if I end up applying to business school down the road this thread would make for wonderful essay content :)
Before I pour my heart…let me give you the quick download on who I am and where I come from…trust me I won’t get into existential expose on the purpose of my being – frankly I’m not that deep (I went to Wharton for college…so that says enough). And in full transparency, I looked up the word ‘existential’ on dictionary.com before inserting it in this post just to make sure I wasn’t using the word incorrectly – which I have a God-given gift for doing. Also, for those of you who know me, I hope you realize that I’m trying really hard to buck the trend of writing everything in bullet form and always having 3-reasons to back-up my points-of-view, even if I only have 1 real reason; you can thank my prior employer, McKinsey & Co., for training me in such eloquent prose.
I grew up in a small town outside of Pittsburgh, PA called Latrobe. It’s the home town of golfing legend, Arnold Palmer, and its where Rolling Rocks Beer got its start… who knows perhaps someday Latrobe will also be referred as the birthplace of the messiah of the Kabob… don’t hold your breath though :) Anyways, when I was 8 my family moved from Latrobe to South Asia (Karachi, Pakistan) and then to the Middle East (Dubai, UAE), before we moved back to the US in 1998, this time to New Jersey – unclear if that was an upgrade or downgrade from Latrobe. Today, I work in the world of Private Equity at a pretty awesome firm in Boston called Advent International (checkout my bio for some shameless self-promotion: http://www.adventinternational.com/PeopleData/Pages/AmirMemon_English.aspx)
So… I’m 26 now and entering a cross-road in my life. Please don’t read too much into that prior statement. I’m by no means claiming to be going through some cathartic experience in which all of a sudden I now realize the true essence of life. Rather, what I’m trying to say and I imagine many of you reading this post can similarly appreciate; I’m grappling with the age-old conundrum of following the well-trodden path vs. blazing your own trail. The questions and feelings that one goes through in making this kind of decision, regardless of the time, place, and circumstances have to be the same. On the one hand, the well-trodden path offers comfort, security, and allows you to visualize the destination ahead, even if that destination is miles away and you know it won’t always be smooth sailing. Meanwhile, blazing your path is just that – its taking a step back and realizing holy cow you have no idea what the hell you are doing, where you’re going, and where you’ll end up. At the end of the day all you have to hang your hat on is your trust in God, and that you’re going to do whatever it takes to figure things out…